http://www.theoffside.com League Football, Soccer News and Views from Around the World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:55:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/fly-fly-away-with-diego.html http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/fly-fly-away-with-diego.html#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:02:21 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/fly-fly-away-with-diego.html When Al Wasl paid a hefty sum of money to Diego Maradona to lead their team, they did so not with the idea of getting the next great football coach, but with the idea that he’d be part coach, part entertainer, occasionally part circus clown. He rarely disappoints, if he does so by disappointing. For his [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/fly-fly-away-with-diego.html/feed 1 http://www.theoffside.com/asia/shunsuke-nakamura-rides-the-bus.html http://www.theoffside.com/asia/shunsuke-nakamura-rides-the-bus.html#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:46:59 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/asia/shunsuke-nakamura-rides-the-bus.html This video is technically Shunsuke Nakamura belting a free kick onto a moving bus, but it really qualifies as a pleading attempt for a free kick trick series between the likes of Nakamura, Juninho, Darijo Srna, et cetera et cetera, just like those old McDonald’s trick shot commercials between Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. But, [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/asia/shunsuke-nakamura-rides-the-bus.html/feed 0 http://www.theoffside.com/africa/retiring-to-increasingly-strange-lands.html http://www.theoffside.com/africa/retiring-to-increasingly-strange-lands.html#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:32:14 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/africa/retiring-to-increasingly-strange-lands.html The practice of veteran stars seeing out their careers in lesser leagues isn’t exactly new, nor is it rare. The Middle East has been using oil-soaked checks to lure eager foreigners for years. And yet, this weekend might just take the cake for odd locations and trail-blazing new football landscapes. Rivaldo, no stranger to strange [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/africa/retiring-to-increasingly-strange-lands.html/feed 1 http://www.theoffside.com/asia/photo-the-early-candidate.html http://www.theoffside.com/asia/photo-the-early-candidate.html#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:24:51 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/asia/photo-the-early-candidate.html This is likely to end up on some end of the year Best Of lists for football photos and the like, along with someone in the Bundesliga making a nice tackle and John Terry barking orders in the rain soaked evening. Afghan boys play football in sunset in Mazar-i-Shraif on January 10, 2012. Football is one [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/asia/photo-the-early-candidate.html/feed 0 http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/abusing-the-line.html http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/abusing-the-line.html#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:13:47 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/abusing-the-line.html Just what is ‘verbal abuse’? It must be relative, as the line drawn in some areas is much different than, say, the one in the United Arab Emirates. Diego. He’s less than the ideal role model off the pitch. And now he’s been fined for calling an opposing coach ‘quite rude’, which would probably qualify as [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/abusing-the-line.html/feed 1 http://www.theoffside.com/asia/good-news-nicolas-anelka-isnt-poor.html http://www.theoffside.com/asia/good-news-nicolas-anelka-isnt-poor.html#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:39:44 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/asia/good-news-nicolas-anelka-isnt-poor.html There have been some utterly absurd contracts handed out recently, the guilty party typically residing on the blue side of Manchester with Dagestan looking a formidable foe in the near future (obviously). However, that just handed to a 32 year old Nicolas Anelka might just quash all others combined: Chinese media quoted a report by sports [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/asia/good-news-nicolas-anelka-isnt-poor.html/feed 1 http://www.theoffside.com/asia/photo-worlds-creepiest-fan-contestant.html http://www.theoffside.com/asia/photo-worlds-creepiest-fan-contestant.html#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:04:56 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/asia/photo-worlds-creepiest-fan-contestant.html A Thai fan at the game between his home nation and Singapore earlier today with ear muffs made out of papier-mache heads, possibly representing, facial expressions considered, tragedy and comedy. And with extremely fat lips. This might be a perfectly mundane cultural thing, but even if so, I don’t want to know about it. (AP) ]]> http://www.theoffside.com/asia/photo-worlds-creepiest-fan-contestant.html/feed 1 http://www.theoffside.com/asia/the-best-header-ever.html http://www.theoffside.com/asia/the-best-header-ever.html#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:54:29 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/asia/the-best-header-ever.html Yes, I’ll go ahead and say it. Jared Borgetti, eat your heart out. (Not really, it’s still pretty epic.) Ryujiro Ueda of Fagiano Okayama earns the title with his bombing own-half header into the back of the net, which he then celebrated like a tap-in on the goal line. Smooth. ]]> http://www.theoffside.com/asia/the-best-header-ever.html/feed 0 http://www.theoffside.com/asia/life-lessons-dont-hide-coke-in-religious-texts.html http://www.theoffside.com/asia/life-lessons-dont-hide-coke-in-religious-texts.html#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:10:47 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/asia/life-lessons-dont-hide-coke-in-religious-texts.html At the moment, Adrian Mutu stands as the very, very poor posterchild for cocaine in football. Perhaps for consideration is also Francesco Flachi, who might be floating around an unofficial pitch somewhere, serving something like eight life suspensions for his none-too-small coke problem. (He’s “only” suspended until 2022, actually.) That all may change. Amou Lashgarian Hassan, [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/asia/life-lessons-dont-hide-coke-in-religious-texts.html/feed 5 http://www.theoffside.com/asia/the-asian-champions-league-brawl.html http://www.theoffside.com/asia/the-asian-champions-league-brawl.html#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:40:14 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/asia/the-asian-champions-league-brawl.html The Asian Champions League doesn’t get much pub this side of, well, Asia, especially not when playing on the same day as the European Champions League. A quick way to rectify this injustice is to start a massive brawl in a regional semifinal. The genesis is as ludicrous as the concept itself: With two players [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/asia/the-asian-champions-league-brawl.html/feed 0